


Idiots to Matesprits

by PYROP3



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Dave has a vague idea of quadrants, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Homestuck - Freeform, Idiots to matesprits, Karkat is sad, M/M, One-Shot, Rose is a smug bastard, cheesy as hell, dave is sad, davekat - Freeform, i wrote this at four in the morning, idiots to lovers, kind of pale implications now that i think about it??, ok but i keep editing this shit i'm sorry yall, sloppy make outs, take that as you will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 05:25:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18958762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PYROP3/pseuds/PYROP3
Summary: Dave feels alone on the meteor.But who doesn't?***





	Idiots to Matesprits

Dave’s body convulsed with every shaky sob that escaped his lips.

_‘Coward.’_

That was the only word he could use to explain what he thought he was at that moment. A coward. He pictured his bro [who would _not_ find this cool. Ouch.] first, and then the rest of his friends, and new thoughts entered his mind.

_‘Failure. Disappointment. Weak.’_

The thoughts came as he continued to sob as quietly as he could— which, in his opinion, wasn't especially quiet. He’d expect himself to not let his sniffles and cries be heard, considering he’s had plenty of practice before, but his mood drop came out of no where, and it was particularly bad. So much so that he stopped caring if anyone heard him five minutes ago.

The rest of his friends were in the living room. (Karkat refused to call it that, insisting that it was called the ‘common area.’) Oh god. Karkat. That made him feel worse, and he curled himself up on his bed with an embarrassing whine— as if he cared.

_Cared._ God, his brain wouldn’t shut up. His thoughts were running. Everyone was playing monopoly after Rose had finally managed to alchemize it along with a few other board games. She had stopped by a while ago to ask if he was alright after he said he’d ‘skip out today.’ He managed to hold back his tears enough to clearly say that he was just exhausted. Rose had left after saying goodnight, and he heard a roar of laughter from the living room after a few moments of silence, before he started crying again. That was fifteen minutes ago.

Dave felt weak, and helpless, and oh so jealous. He hated himself for that with every fiber of his being. He was jealous that everyone was able to go on without him so easily, even though he clearly knew that he wasn’t the only person who mattered; that thought angered him more. He was angry at himself for a lot of things recently. Primarily one pretty troll boy by the name of Karkat Vantas.

Dave was always in touch with his feelings, which was both a blessing, and a curse. He knew what he wanted, usually, and he knew how he felt about something. So it wasn’t a surprise that he was shocked after realizing his feelings for the troll. He was scared. As embarrassing as it was to admit that, he really was afraid. He was afraid of ruining his relationship with him.

Out of everyone, his friendship with Karkat meant the most to him. He wasn’t an idiot, either. He knew Karkat appreciated him too. But he wasn’t sure how deep Karkat thought their connection was.

Dave didn’t know what to think anymore.

On one side, Karkat and Dave would often make physical contact. Like hugs that would last a second too long, [Karkat rarely lets anyone hug him.] or subtle touches, supposedly on ‘accident.’ [They weren’t.] It only confused Dave more with the whole quadrant thing. Dave knew how much Karkat respected his troll culture, even though it really wasn’t necessary anymore. He said he wanted to ‘make sure he didn’t forget his home planet.’ Which Dave also thought was bullshit, but he respected him nonetheless, anyway.

He cried out in frustration, shifting his position so he was on his back. Usually he’d make a joke about how he was acting. That’s what Bro would do.

He cringed uncomfortably at the memory of his Bro. Even though he rarely thought about him anymore, anytime the thoughts came, though, he could still feel the pain of his scars. He no longer felt regret for what happened to Bro, but he knew that he still cared for him. (Embarrassing.)

Dave’s heavy breaths hitched as he heard shuffling in the hallway, before the click of the door to his right. The bathroom. ‘Ablution chamber!’ He could practically hear Karkat say, which caused a sad, hiccupy chuckle from him, before he quietly swore to himself and clamped his mouth shut.

Tears were still flowing down his cheeks when he heard the toilet flush and the sound of the faucet running. Shit.

It wasn’t Terezi. She grossly doesn’t wash her hands, most of the trolls didn’t, know that he though about it.

He heard the bathroom door open with a click, and somone stepped out. Another sob racked his body, and he mentally cursed himself for not having any self control.

He heard the person shuffle back down the hall a few steps, before stopping and turning back around, going back towards either his room or the bathroom. He strained his ears to listen to the steps, and he recognized the way the person walked— short, quick shuffles.

Fuck.

“Dave?” He heard the voice clear as day. The last person he wanted to talk to. Hell, he’d even take Rose’s psychoanalysis bullshit over this. He really wasn’t in the mood to talk to Karkat right now.

_Fuck._

Dave tried his best to mimic a pathetic attempt at snoring as he rolled onto his side, his back facing the door. It was difficult, considering that his nose was grossly filled with snot and he didn’t actually snore. Hey, he wasn't old yet.

He prayed to any god he can think of that he locked his door in the midst of his mental breakdown, and that Karkat would leave him the hell alone.

”I’m not a dumbass, Dave. I’m coming in, please, have some fucking clothes on.” Karkat opened the door slowly, and Dave froze.

”Jesus Christ, don't you need light to see with your pitiful, underdeveloped human eyesight?” Karkat snorted, but didn’t make any move to turn on the lights as he strolled farther into his room uninvited. Dave had reassured him that it was okay to do that multiple times in the past before he finally listened.

”Hey bulgemunch, I know you’re not asleep, get your ass up.”

Dave inhaled sharply before speaking, his breath shaky and so unlike his usual self, "Oh, I've been caught."

Karkat immediately stopped glaring, and his hard voice softened. “Dave, are you okay?”

Dave simply nodded, quietly sniffling, and hoping Karkat would listen for once. “‘M just tired.” He lied. He couldn’t be more awake.

”Dave. Look at me.” Karkat moved until his knees hit the edge of the bed, and reached for Dave’s shoulder, immediately retracting it when he flinched. Instead, he moved back towards the entrance, closed the door, locked it, before slowly moving back and sitting on Dave’s bed. Dave didn’t make any move to kick him out, so he took that as a good sign.

”Wanna tell me what’s wrong?” Karkat asked after a few minutes. He slowly reached out and started petting Dave’s hair. It might’ve been slightly weird to the human, but he hardly cared at this point, thinking it was some weird troll thing.

Dave felt himself shaking, helpless to stop it. He felt years of self control and emotionless expression slip through his fingers. Soon enough, he was sobbing all over again, curling up into himself with shame and embarrassment. Karkat moved closer to Dave, his thigh pressing against the human’s back.

Karkat didn’t say anything, he just continued to stroke Dave’s hair, purring gentle clicks and churrs. He found it strangely calming, and in a matter of minutes, Dave’s sobs had turned into quiet cries. Dave’s head was in Karkat’s lap now, but he could honestly give zero fucks right then.

”I’m sorry.” Dave muttered, his ‘zero fucks’ turned to shame.

”What for?” Karkat asked.

”For making you sit through my entire mental fucking breakdown. Er, some of it.” He was too emotionally exhausted to laugh at his own joke.

Karkat’s eyebrows raised, and Karkat looked amused. ”Dave, you didn’t ‘make me’ sit through anything. I could’ve left at anytime.”

Dave shifted his position so that he was staring back up at Karkat, not amused. “Then why didn’t you?” He deadpanned. In that moment he sounded way too much like Bro, he grimaced.

Karkat’s amused expression dropped, and he frowned, his top teeth sticking out in a cute way that John’s buckteeth never could. Dave looked away.

”You idiot, it’s because I care about you! You’re my best friend, bulgmuch! I'm not that much of a heartless, narcissistic bastard. It's my job to make sure you don't keel over and die like the fainting horned milk-beast you are.” He attempted a joke, but Dave didn’t respond, instead continuing to look anywhere besides the troll’s face.

Dave snorted. “I’m really not that important, dude. Go look somewhere else. Don’t waste your time.” He hardly let any thoughts about his own feelings slip, it would break his facade.

Karkat’s brow furrowed and his lips curled into an angry snarl. “Of course you’re important! And if anyone’s told you otherwise,” Karkat gasped quietly, before his face turned back to its angry expression, “has anyone told you that you weren’t important? ‘Cause I swear to gog, I will tear everyone on this fucking meteor apart-“

Dave chuckled humorlessly. “Only the one and only Dave Strider.”

Karkat’s expression softened, but he still looked angry. “Dave...”

Dave glanced at him for a minute and he instantly felt regret, seeing that Karkat was genuinely upset. He tried to move away, but the troll held him in place. “You do know you’re important Dave, okay? You’re important to a lot of people. Me especially.” He said earnestly, and Dave’s heart clenched knowing he meant it.

The troll shifted a bit and looked away slightly embarrassed. “Can... Can I hug you?”

Dave didn’t know why he asked, or why he looked embarrassed. It was kind of difficult to hug in that position. “Uh, sure. Go ahead.”

Karkat moved Dave’s head off his lap, and laid down on his side, next to Dave. He wrapped his arms around the human and Dave felt stiff for a moment before complying and putting his arm around the other’s shoulder. Karkat soon let out a purr after a few minutes of Dave running his hand through his hair, careful to avoid his horns, and he felt his heart clench again. But he couldn’t say it wasn’t a welcomed feeling.

They stayed like that for a few more quiet minutes. Dave had wiped most of his snot off with his sleeve, and Karkat had called him gross. Dave thought of something. “Hey Karkles, shouldn’t you be out there with everyone else?”

Karkat had his head on Dave’s shoulder, but when he heard his question he lifted his head slightly, his nose touching Dave’s cheek.

”Why? Do you not want me here? ‘Cause I can leave-” Karkat frowned and turned to remove his arms, but Dave stopped him, and he returned to his former position.

”No, no, I meant it like, wouldn’t they wonder what you’re doing?”

Karkat shook his head, his rough hair tickling Dave's cheek, before saying no. “I usually leave without saying. They probably thought I went back to my respiteblock.” 

Dave sighed and they went back to silence. It wasn’t necessarily awkward, but he needed to ask something.

”Why... Why do you care about me so much? I’m kind of a douchebag, asshole, loser.” He felt so vulnerable asking, and he wasn’t used to that feeling. Dave willingly opening up, and _first _wasn't something that happened often. He didn’t have his shades, they were long discarded earlier, and he felt more embarrassed than he should have because of that.__

____

Karkat didn’t seem to mind as he didn’t open his eyes, instead humming before providing an answer. “You’re my best friend, dumbass, I've said this three times already. You should get your pitiful human ears checked,” best friend, “you being a douchebag, asshole, loser won’t change that. Nothing will.”

Dave turned to reciprocate Karkat’s cuddling, laying his head on the trolls chest. He couldn’t remember a time when they were this close.

Dave wanted to say more, he wanted to confess how much he loved Karkat, and he had to hold the urge to kiss him back.

Dave cherished the feeling of Karkat’s arms around him. No one has ever held him like that, but he knew he needed to say what he felt.

He inhaled sharply and backed out of his embrace, and Karkat frowned as the human sat up. No going back.

He felt dread build deep in his stomach, but he had to ask, and he was almost certain that his relationship with Karkat was going to be ruined.

”What’s wrong?” Karkat sat up, and held his hands in his lap; he was nervous too.

Dave kept his gaze foraward as he spoke. “What are we?”

Karkat looked taken aback. “What do you mean?”

Dave still didn’t look at him. “Like... What’s our relationship? I don’t know if you noticed, but we... Kinda act like we’re more than just... Bros.” He spared a glance at Karkat, and he looked back at him. Dave immediately looked away.

”I don’t,” Karkat started, sighing and looking back down at his hands, “I’m not sure. What we have doesn’t fit into a quadrant. Pale, maybe.”

Dave looked uncomfortable, but he understood what ‘pale’ meant. “Pale’s like, moirails, right?”

Karkat nodded. “Where are you going with this conversation?”

Dave moved to face him so quickly, Karkat would’ve jumped if he wasn’t used to it. “Look, I,” he started, his hands fell onto the mattress in defeat, “I... I don’t do quadrants. I don’t fully understand it. But what I do understand is,” Dave didn’t have his shades on. He felt vulnerable, and he couldn’t reach them when Karkat was in the way, “What I do understand is my feelings for you.” He felt Karkat’s gaze on him as he stared at the mattress like it personally offended him. “The truth is, Karkat, I really like you. Like, a lot.” It was cliche as all hell, but he felt that, that was the right thing to say.

He heard Karkat’s breath hitch, and that was it. His best friend probably hated him—

“Dave, look at me.” Karkat grabbed Dave’s hand gently, and he couldn’t help but look up at the troll. Karkat looked at Dave for what felt like hours, when I’m reality it was only a couple seconds.

There was no slow motion movement like in all of Karkat’s romance novels when he kissed the human. It was quick, and it didn’t leave any room for Dave to kiss back.

Dave swore Karkat straightened up so fast it could compare to Dave’s flash-step. “I’m sorry- I should’ve asked. It just seemed like the right moment to kiss you, y’know? I thought it was necessary-“ Dave leaned in, and Karkat shut himself up, his face beet red.

Dave was staring into his eyes directly, and Karkat wasn’t sure what to say. He had never seen Dave’s eyes that close, or for that long, and that allowed Karkat to see how gorgeous they were, so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

”Your eyes are really pretty—“ Dave chuckled, before closing the gap and kissing him. Karkat kissed back almost immediately. It was all lips, no tongue or teeth, but it was sweet and gentle.

They pulled apart after a few moments, and Karkat moved closer so that his side was pressed against Dave’s. “I really like you too, asshole.” Karkat kissed him again, feeling more confident about himself.

It was easy to tell that they were both inexperienced. They had kissed before, but those never mattered like this one did. The angle they were sitting at made it difficult to move, and both of their necks ached.

Karkat had enough of the difficult position, and shifted to where his left leg was over Dave’s right thigh, straddling him.

”Woah, take me to dinner first, karkitten.” Dave pulled away to make a joke, and Karkat felt the urge to slap the dumbass, instead growling and pulling Dave back in.

By that time Karkat had opened their mouths and let their tongues intertwine. Dave savored how the troll tasted.

”Karkat, I really don’t want you to stop, but we should.” He leaned his forehead against the other’s, and Karkat groaned, but stopped, still breathing heavily.

When Karkat moved, Dave crossed his legs, and Karkat laughed quietly at him, which earned an eye roll from the human.

A few moments of comfortable silence passed, and Dave let his eyes close and he let himself sit comfortably. "So..." Dave started, and Karkat raised an eyebrow at him. “Will you be my boyfriend?” Karkat looked a little wide eyed for a second, before nodding quickly. 

”That’s the human equivalent to matesprits, right?”

Dave nodded. “Yeah. It's like... A mix, of all the quadrants, I suppose." He's heard enough of Karkat's complaints about 'unrealistic' troll romances, and his long tangents on how character a and character b would not have gotten together if it was in 'real life', that he knows more about troll romance than he would like to. Fucker still reads the shitty novels, though.

Karkat grinned at him, leaning over to gently kiss him again, Dave reciprocated. "That's going to take a bit of getting used to," Karkat scratched the back of his head, "I grew up with the idea of quadrants, it's literally ingrained into my species. But... As cheesy as it sounds, I kind've like the idea of a 'love that transcends the quadrants.'" Dave chuckled at that, but nodded before Karkat could get angry. "That's alright, dude, take as much time as you need. It's not like we don't have all the time in the non-existent world."

Karkat's grin turned soft and appreciative. "Thank you, Dave." Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, opting to sit in comfortable silence.

When Karkat spoke again, he looked embarrassed, and Dave quirked an eyebrow at him in question.  
“Can I... Stay with you, in here?” He asked, and Dave nodded. ["Cuddle time with Karkles? Fuck yeah." "Shut up, asswipe!"] They took off their socks and Karkat took off his sweater, revealing a thin, black shirt. Dave had already had his cape off. It was thrown carelesly along with his shades.

Karkat got under the sheets, and immediately clung to Dave like he was afraid he might disappear, and he really had no issue with that. It made him feel safe, and loved. That’s really all that he wanted.

Let’s just say it was the first night of peaceful sleep Dave had in a while.

***

They were woken up by a knock on the door. “Wake up Dave, Karkat! Breakfast is ready.” Dave’s eyes shot open, it was Rose. But how the hell did she know Karkat was there? He went to move and found that Karkat’s grip loosened over night, so it was easy to slip away from the boy and out of the bed.

He grabbed his shades and sauntered over to the door, making sure he was blocking her view to avoid seeing Karkat before greeting Rose. “Mornin’ sis.” He grinned, and she cringed.

”You look like a mess.” She said, looking over his messy hair and wrinkled shirt. He hoped there were no tear stains down his face, but that thought was thrown out the window when he saw her gaze linger on his cheeks.

He shrugged, grateful she didn't comment.

”Anyway, where’s Karkat?” She tried to look around him, but he blocked her view by leaning against the door frame. “What do you mean? I passed out and woke up by myself, unfortunately.” He flashed her a cocky smile and she responded with an eye role.

”Well, his bedroom door was wide open, and he wasn’t inside. Everyone else checked their rooms, so he had to be in here.”

Dave shook his head. “Have you checked Can Town? The mayor’s probably housing him until further notice.”

Karkat yawned and Dave grimaced, which made Rose smirk. “Are you sure, dear brother?”

”Dave, What the hell? It’s way too fucking early for this shit, come back to bed.” He stretched and rolled onto his stomach.

”I... Don’t... Say anything. We’ll be out in a minute.” Dave closed the door before she could respond, and went back to the bed, climbing under the sheets and grabbing Karkat, who shifted onto his side. Dave kissed the sleepy troll’s neck, causing him to stir. “Let’s go to breakfast, babe.” Karkat turned around to face him, reaching up and taking his shades off. Dave leaned down to kiss him, and he reciprocated.

”Fine. But... I need to ask you a question first.” His voice was raspy from the effects of sleep, and Dave could tell Karkat hasn’t had much recently.

Dave nodded, and that gave Karkat the que to keep going. “Do you want to be open about this? Our relationship?” Karkat hummed. “I don’t mind, but I want you to be comfortable.”

Dave’s smile widened with joy. Karkat really cared about him. “Let’s keep it to ourselves. For now, at least. I have a feeling they’ll accept us,” Karkat rolled his eyes, thinking of Rose and Kanaya’s PDA filled relationship, “but I want to getting used to this... Dating thing.” Karkat nodded. “I understand. I’ve never acted on a flush crush before, so you’d actually be my first real relationship as well.” He cringed when he thought of Gamzee.  
“Let’s go, then. The chamber known as my stomach needs some serious fuel.” Karkat gently punched his arm. “Moron,” He grinned, saying it with no real meaning.

***

They managed to clean themselves up quick enough so that their friends weren’t suspicious, but everyone stared at them when they came into view.

Rose smirked at them, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Dave glared back, though the effect was probably lost through his shades.

***

Dave and Karkat linked hands under the table and smiled at each other. It was a secret promise to always be there for each other, to protect, and to live.

Yeah, Dave Strider was still fucked up, and the healing process was going to take a very long time, but with Karkat, hell, even his sister? He felt that everything was going to turn out okay.


End file.
